Round 20 Review – PS4 NPL 3 NSW Men’s
The highlight of Round Twenty of the 2017 PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s competition over the weekend was no doubt the eagerly awaited clash between Fraser Park and Rydalmere Lions, but results elsewhere produced some surprises as teams scrambled for the points on offer.
A depleted Gladesville Ryde Magic made light work of their personnel concerns to beat Western NSW Mariners 4-0 in Bathurst on Saturday afternoon; Stanmore Hawks upset the Dulwich Hill applecart at Arlington Oval on Saturday night, prevailing by the odd goal in five; Granville Rage came back from 0-2 down to snatch a point in a 2-2 draw with Balmain Tigers at Garside Park; Stephen Deasy produced a masterclass display in goals to help his Dunbar Rovers grab a share of the spoils in a 1-1 draw with SD Raiders at Hensley Athletic Field; Hawkesbury City worked hard to overcome Sydney University 2-1 on Sunday afternoon; St George City FA tore Inter Lions apart in the late game on Sunday night scoring seven goals without reply.
Football NSW travelled to Marrickville on Saturday night to watch the eagerly awaited blockbuster between the league’s heavyweights, Fraser Park and Rydalmere Lions.
FRASER PARK – RYDALMERE LIONS 1-2
Fraser Park and Rydalmere Lions put on a show piece event on Saturday night in the 2017 PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s competition game of the season thus far, with Rydalmere taking the spoils 2-1 after being reduced to ten men early in the second half.
With the carpark full inside the Fraser Park complex, the fans parked in the surrounding streets of Marrickville, and made their way to the ground amidst the simmering noise that came from inside.
Many fans had to resort to having to stand near the front of the already full grandstand, or around the perimeter of the ground, and starting cheering from the outset to create an electrifying atmosphere.
Hyundai A-League officials, Chris Young, and Lance Greenshields, were allocated the responsibility of officiating such was the importance of the match.
With the earlier U18s and U20s matches finishing all square at 1-1, we were as we were by the time the first grade match came around, with Rydalmere still leading the Club Championship by 10 points.
Rydalmere Lions also had a two-point lead at the top of the PlayStation NPL 3 First Grade ladder, although Fraser Park have the one match in hand against Granville Rage.
Amidst the carnival atmosphere, Rydalmere Lions settled the quickest, and had two opportunities within the opening five minutes of play.
A Fraser Park defensive slip on two minutes allowed Amaury Gauthier to play Matthew Mayora into space in the right channel, and the Rydalmere skipper hit a low angled shot that was well held down low by Chris Becerra in the Fraser Park goal. Mayora started the match on the right flank as part of a venomous strike force that included Amaury Gauthier, Zak Elrich and Ahmad Elrich.
Rydalmere Lions went even closer in the 4th minute, following a delightful chipped ball by left back, Alistair McKie, into space behind the Fraser Park backline. Ahmad Elrich managed to get his toe to the ball, lobbing the advancing Fraser Park keeper, Chris Becerra, but Nathan Lopino scrambled well to clear the ball off the line.
Fraser Park responded by creating a wonderful opportunity in the 12th minute that went begging. Left back, Farres Aoun, made a blistering run down the left flank, before cutting a superb ball back across the face of the goal. Peter Crevani skied his effort, much to the angst of the Fraser Park contingent.
Silky Fraser Park midfielder, Goncalo Paradanta, than made space for himself in the 23rd minute on the edge of the Rydalmere penalty area, weaving through a couple of challenges before his low shot was gobbled up by Rydalmere’s custodian, Harrick Sinpraseuth.
On 26 minutes, Fraser Park created yet another great opportunity. Speedy winger, Chris Hatfield, ran at the retreating Rydalmere defence, and after playing a couple of neat one-two’s with Paradanta and Ben Vidaic, scooped his shot over the bar with the goal begging.
The players were really putting on a show, with the intensity increasing as both teams searched for an opening. The game was screaming for a goal, and it came in the 29 minute via the visitors.
Receiving the ball just inside the Fraser Park half, Amaury Gauthier launched a diagonal ball towards the back end of the penalty area that Matthew Mayora took in his stride.
Chesting the ball down, Mayora played a neat aerial one-two with Ahmad Elrich inside the penalty area, before firing a half volley past Fraser Park’s goalkeeper, Chris Becerra, and into the roof of the net.
Rydalmere Lions were in front, and the noise from their fans was deafening as Mayora ran to the touchlines to celebrate with his team mates.
Chris Hatfield had one last opportunity for Fraser just before the break, firing low and just past the upright after he cut inside a couple of Rydalmere defenders with speed.
The half time break was a reprieve for everyone, especially the players, given the high intensity of the match. The fans returned to their seats eager for more of the same, and it didn’t take long for more drama to unfold.
A slick counter attack in the 50th minute saw Goncalo Paradanta’s left wing cutback fall invitingly to Chris Hatfield near the penalty spot. Hatfield drilled a shot goalwards, and Rydalmere’s Alexander Sopina threw himself to block the effort.
Referee, Chris Young, adjudged the ball to have hit Sopina on the arm, and duly awarded Fraser Park a penalty, sending the Rydalmere defender off for an early shower.
Fraser Park had brought on recently signed striker, Michael Gaitatzis, at half time, and he dispatched the spot kick by sending Rydalmere goal keeper, Harrick Sinpraseuth, the wrong way. However, one of the Fraser Park players had encroached before the kick was taken, and the referee requested a retake.
Sinpraseuth guessed correctly the second time, parrying the spot kick, but Gaitatzis was quickest to react, volleying the rebound into the net to restore parity at 1-1.
It was the turn of the Fraser Park fans to open up their lungs, cheering as Gaitatzis raced off towards the corner flag to celebrate with his jubilant team mates.
Rydalmere coach, Tony Basha, was then forced into a reshuffling of his pack with Sopina’s sending off, and an injury to Daniel Ortega Roman.
Skipper Matthew Mayora was put back into central defence, and shortly afterwards, Khalid Allybokus went in at right back, replacing Roman.
Now with a numerical advantage, Fraser Park had all to play for and started throwing themselves forward in numbers. The scrambling fierce defensive efforts from Rydalmere meant that chances were far and few between for the home side.
Fraser Park’s best opportunity in this passage of play arrived in the 64th minute, following a great piece of skill, and subsequent delivery, from the right flank by Chris Hatfield.
Striker Ben Vidaic rose unmarked to head towards goal, but alas, the ball missed the upright with the Rydalmere players rooted to their spots.
Rydalmere seemed intent to soak up whatever Fraser Park had to throw at them, and try and hit the home side on the break with their effective frontline.
One such counter attack in the 71st minute drew a foul near the top corner of the Fraser Park penalty area, and Rydalmere took the opportunity with both hands.
Ahmad Elrich took the resultant free kick, curling a superb effort over the Fraser Park wall that was arrowing towards the top corner of the goal. Fraser Park keeper, Chris Becerra, did ever so well to get an outstretched hand to the shot, but the ball ricocheted upwards, and when it did drop towards earth, was eventually bundled over the line by central defender, Russell Farrell, to edge Rydalmere Lions in to the lead.
The visiting fans exploded in jubilation as the Rydalmere players swarmed over Farrell, who had in fact, also scored in the corresponding first round fixture between the two clubs.
The remainder of the clash was predictable, with Fraser Park pushing men forward and resorting to long balls, especially late in the game, whilst Rydalmere Lions defended stoutly and looked to whittle away the clock.
Full time arrived to a sea of noise from the Rydalmere fans, who invaded the pitch to celebrate with their players.
Both clubs must be congratulated on what was a memorable evening for football, let alone the PlayStation NPL 3 competition.
Fraser Park and Rydalmere Lions are two very well drilled, and well coached, football units, and their standards and achievements this season thus far created the opportunity for a wonderful spectacle.
The match had all the thrills and spills of a heavyweight clash, and in the end, it was Rydalmere Lions who took home the points.
The Lions showed passion in their performance, and a desire to stay focused and keep at it, even though they played 40 minutes with a player less.
Even though there are still five rounds of football to be played, the win is huge for Rydalmere, giving the club a five point lead at the top of the PlayStation NPL 3 ladder, and more valuable points in the race for the Club Championship.
Addison Sayan showed endless energy in the number six role, closing down any Fraser Park ball carrier with intensity, and covering every inch from box to box in a high workrate display. The experience of Matthew Mayora and Ahmad Elrich was a real advantage for Rydalmere, the two staying calm amidst the atmosphere to guide their troops around the park, leading by example, with both being heavily involved in the two Rydalmere goals.
Fraser Park would be gutted to walk away from the match without any points, and the loss means the end of their 18 match undefeated run. In the end it is a game of converting your chances, and Fraser would be ruing their two first half opportunities when the score was 0-0. No doubt Fraser Park will regroup given the abundance of quality in the side, and keep at Rydalmere’s heels hoping the Lions will slip up between now and the end of the season.
Just like his Rydalmere opposite number, Musashi Kokubo played a very effective number six on the night, working hard to close down the Rydalmere midfield in a high intensity 90 minute performance, whilst centre backs, Nick Dimitropoulos and Nathan Lopino, were well structured and minimised any Rydalmere attacks down the middle.
Match Stats
PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s
Round Twenty
Saturday, July 22, 2017
FRASER PARK 1 (Gaitatzis 51’)
RYDALMERE LIONS 2 (Mayora 29’, Farrell 71’)
Fraser Park, Marrickville
Referee – Chris Young
Assistant Referees – Lance Greenshields and Amir Mosnani
FRASER PARK: 1.C.Becerra, 2.F.Aoun, 4.P.Crevani (17.M.Gaitatzis 46’), 5.N.Dimitropoulos (capt), 20.C.Hatfield, 6.M.Kokubo, 18.N.Lopino, 8.A.Malmierca (10.J.Simpson 84’), 19.G.Paradanta (9.A.Euripidou 74’), 22.Z.Ribeiro, 13.B.Vidaic.
Substitutes Not Used – 21.A.Costa, 16.D.Monro.
Yellow Cards – 22.Z.Ribeiro 78’.
Red Cards – Nil
RYDALMERE LIONS: 1.H.Sinpraseuth, 10.J.Aguirre, 21.A.Elrich, 7.Z.Elrich (29.D.Kim 85’), 4.R.Farrell, 15.M.Mayora (capt), 11.A.McKie, 3.D.Ortega Roman (5.K.Allybokus 64’), 6.A.Sayan, 2.A.Sopina, 24.A.Gauthier.
Substitutes Not Used – 26.M.Safdari, 22.Y.Silvestre, 40.J.Cumberland.
Yellow Cards – 21.A.Elrich 90’ + 4’.
Red Cards – 2.A.Sopina 50’.
Western NSW Mariners – Gladesville Ryde Magic 0-4
A depleted Gladesville Ryde Magic made a mockery of their personnel issues by giving the Western NSW Mariners a 4-0 hiding at Proctor Park in Bathurst on Saturday afternoon.
Magic came in to the match with five players missing from their starting eleven, including skipper, Chris Gaitatzis, and central defender, Sergio Tarazona.
As a result, Gladesville were able to provide starting debuts to 16 year old Nick Ioannides and 17 year old Tyler Sands.
The match was fairly even in the opening quarter of an hour, with Ioannides (Gladesville) and Scimone (Mariners) proving dangerous on their respective left flanks.
It took just over half an hour for the game’s first goal, and it came the way of the visitors.
Nick Ioannides beat his man on the left wing in the 33rd minute before whipping over a cross that was volleyed home by Marwan Amin to put Gladesville Ryde Magic 1-0 up.
The Mariners responded with a long range shot by Matthew Corben in the 41st, but the effort didn’t trouble Magic goalkeeper, Kyriakos Tohouroglou, as it cleared the cross bar.
The visitors then extended their lead just before the half time break.
Chris Tomaras whipped over a free kick in the 43rd minute, and Peter Voukidis headed home via a deflection to make it 2-0 to Gladesville Ryde Magic at half time.
The Western NSW Mariners almost reduced the deficit in the 49th minute, when Magic goalkeeper, Kyriakos Tohouroglou, dived full stretch to his right to divert a great effort from Jaiden Culbert.
Gladesville Ryde Magic could smell the kill, and replied with three efforts within minutes of each other. Peter Voukidis hit an effort in the 52nd minute that went inches wide, Chris Tomaras did likewise from even further out in the 54th minute, before Mariners’ keeper, Brock Logan, was required to keep out Johhny Martinez’s effort in the 59th minute.
Gladesville finally put the game beyond the Mariners’ reach in the 79th minute, when Peter Voukidis headed home after an initial effort from Martinez reached him in front of goal.
Playmaker, Chris Tomaras, put the icing on the cake with Gladesville’s final goal to round off the scoring at 4-0.
The win and subsequent three points has put Gladesville Ryde Magic on to 31 points, and they climb to 6th position on the ladder, whilst the Western NSW Mariners remain 13th on 13 points.
Stanmore Hawks – Dulwich Hill 3-2
Stanmore Hawks produced a reversal of current form, upsetting the high flying Dulwich Hill 3-2 at Arlington Oval on Saturday evening.
Unfortunately details of the scorers have not been forthcoming at this point, but the result means Dulwich Hill remain in 3rd spot on the ladder on 37 points, whilst Stanmore Hawks remain in 9th position, but climb to 23 points.
Granville Rage – Balmain Tigers 2-2
In a desperate battle for points at Garside Park, Granville Rage came from two goals down to snatch a 2-2 draw with Balmain Tigers on Saturday night.
The Tigers started off brightly, and created a number of early opportunities.
Following good lead up work from Yanni Moustakas and Frank Calcagno, Rosario Occhipinti fed Raffaele Moniaci but his close range shot was easily collected by Granville’s keeper, Samuel Bortolazzo.
Occhipinti then went close minutes later when he connected with a Moniaci cross, only for a Granville defender to clear the danger at the critical moment.
The same two players combined on 31 minutes, but this time Occhipinti found the net after following up his initial effort which was parried by Bortolazzo in the Granville goal.
The match remained in the balance until the 70th minute when Balmain found a way to extend their lead.
Moniaci, one of the best players on the pitch, worked well with Liam Cole to feed Yanni Moustakas, and his cross was finished nicely by Frank Calcagno to give Balmain a 2-0 lead.
But just when the game seemed locked up by Balmain, Granville Rage showed tremendous character to come back in to the contest, and eventually scored twice through Andre Guzman and Nenos Bobo to force a 2-2 draw.
Balmain move to seven points courtesy of the draw, whilst Granville climb to 17 points but remain in 11thposition on the competition ladder.
Dunbar Rovers – SD Raiders 1-1
Dunbar Rovers and SD Raiders shared the points in a 1-1 stalemate on Saturday night at Hensley Athletic Field.
The Rovers started the brighter, with Ryan Shaughnessy rocking the woodwork when his 21st minute effort came back off the crossbar.
Just two minutes later, however, Dunbar fell behind, when Mitchell McLintock put the Raiders in front with a clean execution.
But Dunbar responded with an equaliser on the stroke of half time, the goal coming from the club’s recently singed Colombian, Cristian Garces.
Garces got his head to a Rocci Gabey cross to net his first goal for his new club in just his second appearance.
Dunbar’s keeper, Stephen Deasy, repelled a number of Raiders’ attacks to help keep his side in the match, and the match inevitably ended 1-1.
The draw means Dunbar Rovers move to 20 points retaining 10th position on the ladder, whilst SD Raiders are 7th on 31 points.
Sydney University – Hawkesbury City 1-2
Hawkesbury City continued their march towards finals football with a hard fought 2-1 victory over Sydney University on Sunday afternoon.
Carl McMahon was called into action early, the Sydney Uni keeper doing well to stop a header from Santiago Pallares Palomeque.
Sydney Uni’s Domenic Di Mento and Brian Caulker were causing problems for the visiting Hawkesbury defence, but neither could find a way through to goal in an even first half.
It was a different story after the break, and the Hawks lethal marksman, Santiago Pallares Palomeque edged the visitors in front with a header on 70 minutes.
James Mawein extended Hawkesbury’s lead within ten minutes, driving home from inside the Uni penalty area.
But the ‘students’ responded with a late goal from Daniel Marjanovic, who struck from the edge of the penalty area, but that was all she wrote as Sydney Uni ran out of time.
Sydney University remain in 8th position on 23 points, whilst the three points means Hawkesbury City climb to 5th spot on 32 points.
Inter Lions – St George City FA 0-7
Despite missing a host of regulars, St George City FA handed out a 7-0 drubbing to Inter Lions in the late Sunday night game at Fraser Park.
Veteran striker, Juan Chavez, got things going on 16 minutes, before George Codrea doubled their advantage on the half hour mark.
Sam Messam made it 3-0 on the stroke of half time, before the big flanker grabbed his double two minutes after the break.
Goals to Peter Yannopoulos (73’), James Spanoudakis (79’) and Jordan Janic (90’) rounded off a comfortable night’s work for St George City.
The loss sees Inter Lions remain 12th on 16 points, whilst St George City FA move to 33 points courtesy of the win, and climb to outright 4th position on the ladder.
